Joe Maddon on Youth Traveling Teams

Joe Maddon has never been a fan of younger athletes dedicating themselves to one sport. And earlier in spring training, the new Cubs skipper took another crack at reminding us why.
What started as praise for the diverse athletic resume of his centerfielder (former multi-sport high school star Dexter Fowler) ended with a brushback pitch hurled from Maddon’s youth sports soapbox.
The 2X AL Manager of the Year explained that athletes like Fowler benefit from being “around a different set of coaches and styles and ways to get in shape…”

And then he brought the heat.

"That’s why I hate the specialization of kids when they’re on these travel squads that are only 12-13-14 years olds that are only dedicated to one thing, traveling all the time, paying exorbitant amounts of money to play baseball with hopes of becoming a professional baseball player.”

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